Chapter 194: Chapter 192: Elder Qii’s Invitation

「Outside the Earth Martial Hall.」

Everyone stared with anticipation at the highest floor, the twenty-seventh, its brilliant light drawing all eyes.

Even among the hundred people in Jiang Chen’s assessment group, five had reached the eighteenth floor and become Core Disciples. But at this moment, their own achievements seemed to dim, unable to attract any attention.

Because everyone’s attention was still fixed on the Earth Martial Hall.

The twenty-seventh floor!

To reach the twenty-seventh floor on one’s first attempt at the Earth Martial Hall—a monstrous genius like that was a rarity seen once in a thousand years!

Even if Jiang Chen stopped at the twenty-seventh floor, he would still set a record—one that would tie Lan Haichen.

Lin Feifei clenched her fists, a strange light shimmering in her beautiful eyes. ’Can he create a miracle?’

Tangg Ning and Du Haoyu exchanged glances, equally thrilled.

They had been joking earlier that if a disciple managed to break through the twenty-seventh floor and create a legend on their watch, they would also get to bask in some of the reflected glory.

They never expected...

...that their idle joke was about to come true!

"If... if Jiang Chen really makes it through, we’ll definitely get a reward from the Sect!"

"Come on, Jiang Chen! You have to make it through!"

The two of them clenched their fists, praying silently.

Of course, there was also someone desperately praying to any and all deities, "Please don’t let him pass! Please don’t!"

This person was none other than Li Ke!

His eyes were already bloodshot. He clasped his hands to his chest, muttering under his breath, "Fail, fail, you have to fail..."

Nalan Qiantian raised an eyebrow and taunted with a smirk, "Even if Jiang Chen fails, you’ve still lost the bet!"

"What’s it to you?" Li Ke snapped.

Nalan Qiantian grinned. "Jiang Chen is my brother. I’m happy when he wins! What? You got a problem with that? Believe it or not, when my brother comes out, I’ll have him beat you up!"

If Nalan Qiantian had entertained thoughts of suppressing Jiang Chen and earning his heartfelt admiration during the First and Second Stage assessments, then after witnessing the immense power Jiang Chen displayed by reaching the twenty-seventh floor, he had completely abandoned those notions.

When two people are evenly matched, it’s natural for them to compete.

But if one of them has already left the other far behind, with a gap so large it induces despair...

Then...

...the one left behind will naturally stop chasing such unrealistic ambitions.

In Nalan Qiantian’s mind now, he was already planning to pledge his loyalty to Jiang Chen and become his subordinate the moment he returned!

So naturally, he spared no effort in attacking Li Ke, who was hostile toward Jiang Chen!

"You..."

Li Ke’s face stiffened. Seething with uncontrollable rage, he was about to erupt when a figure slowly emerged from the exit of the Earth Martial Hall.

With his hands laced behind his head, he sauntered over as if taking a leisurely stroll. His breathing was steady, showing no signs of having just been in a fierce battle.

The newcomer was none other than Jiang Chen!

"Jiang Chen is out!"

"The light on the twenty-seventh floor has dimmed. Looks like he didn’t pass it!"

"What a shame, he was so close. Still, with Jiang Chen’s strength and performance, he’s definitely caught the attention of those high-and-mighty Elder powerhouses. It’s even possible a powerhouse from the Inner Sect will want to take him as a disciple!"

Back then, when Lan Haichen first challenged the Earth Martial Hall, he also stopped at the twenty-seventh floor!

As a result, he was accepted by the Sect Master as a Named Disciple.

It wasn’t until he passed the 9th Floor of the Celestial Martial Hall that he became the Sect Master’s Direct Disciple.

Jiang Chen’s achievement in the Earth Martial Hall was now no less than Lan Haichen’s. Everyone began to wonder if an Inner Sect Elder, or perhaps even the Sect Master himself, would appear to take him as a disciple!

"Jiang Chen, congratulations!"

"Senior Brother Jiang, your sudden rise to fame was so intense, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

One expert after another came forward to chat with Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen smiled and responded to each of them in turn.

"Boss, you’re finally out! Li Ke was just threatening to beat me up!" Nalan Qiantian, who had appeared behind Jiang Chen at some point, began gently pounding and kneading Jiang Chen’s shoulders with his fists as he spoke.

Jiang Chen froze, giving Nalan Qiantian a strange look. "Young Master Nalan, what are you doing?"

"Aiya, Boss, don’t mock me like that! How can I be a ’Young Master’ in front of you? I’m just your little brother. From now on, I’ll take care of all the chores like serving tea and water for you in the Sword Sect!"

Nalan Qiantian puffed out his chest and grinned. "Boss, just call me Qingtian from now on! And don’t look at me like that. I’ve thought it through. With my strength, who knows how long it would take to make a name for myself. But if I follow you, Boss, I feel like I’ll be soaring to new heights in no time. This is called ’a wise man submits to the circumstances’!"

Jiang Chen was speechless.

’Damn it!’

’This Nalan Qiantian was so arrogant and full of himself before, and now he’s turned into this in the blink of an eye. He’s a total shameless suck-up!’

However...

He also knew that Nalan Qiantian was just highly competitive and bore him no real ill will. He stopped refusing and said with a smile, "Alright, then I’ll accept you as my little brother. By the way, did you just say Li Ke wanted to hit you?"

"That’s right! Not only did he want to hit me, but he was also planning to welch on his bet!" Nalan Qiantian said, gleefully stirring up trouble.

"Is that so?"

Jiang Chen smiled faintly and looked at Li Ke. "Li Ke, is what Qingtian said true?"

Li Ke’s eye twitched. He was speechless.

’Damn it all!’

’When the hell did I say I was going to welch on the bet? Fuck, you can’t just frame someone like that... ’

But how could he back down in front of so many people?

Li Ke’s face darkened, and he gritted out, "That’s right, I am planning to welch. What are you going to do about it?"

"There’s not much I can do to you!"

Jiang Chen replied coolly. Seeing the triumphant look on Li Ke’s face, his tone suddenly shifted. "You have three breaths. Either you pay up, or I’ll personally capture you and hold you until someone from your Li Family delivers the wager. Two paths. You choose."

...

Li Ke’s face turned pale then green, a truly ugly sight. His expression wavered as he stared at Jiang Chen and said sinisterly, "Jiang Chen, do you really think you’re invincible? Let me tell you, my Li Family has many geniuses, and several of the Saint Martial Sword Sect’s True Disciples are from my family. If you dare do this to me, I guarantee you won’t live for more than three days!"

"Heh, even if I die, I’ll take you down with me!" Jiang Chen sneered dismissively and added calmly, "One breath has passed."

"Damn you, Jiang Chen! Don’t push it too far!" Li Ke roared.

Jiang Chen remained unmoved. "Two breaths."

"If it comes to it, I’ll fight you to the death..." Li Ke glared, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

"Time’s up!"

Jiang Chen rose to his feet, the Qingfeng Sword in his hand. He said coolly, "Perfect. I didn’t get enough of a fight on the twenty-seventh floor. Let’s have a go. If you can beat me, we’ll call the debt square!"

BUZZ—

The blade’s light pulsed, its sharp edge fully revealed!

Just as a great battle was about to begin.

Li Ke suddenly gritted his teeth, hung his head, and said in a low voice, "You win. I give up. But I don’t have that many Spirit Crystals on me..."

"No problem. I’ll let you write an IOU. If you really can’t pay it back, I can always take the IOU to the Li Family and collect it myself!" Jiang Chen said with a beaming smile.

...

Li Ke snorted, his face full of venom. He quickly scribbled an IOU, threw it at Jiang Chen, and said coldly, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely gather the Spirit Crystals and pay you back within half a month!"

"Fine, I’ll give you half a month."

Jiang Chen put away the IOU with a wide smile and returned to the crowd.

A short while later, Lin Feifei and Tangg Ning had finished tallying the results of the assessment. No one was eliminated in the Third Stage; instead, disciples were assigned ranks corresponding to their performance.

For example, passing the 1st Floor of the Earth Martial Hall earned the rank of One-star Ordinary Disciple.

The tenth floor earned One-Star Elite Disciple, the nineteenth floor earned One-star Core Disciple...

And so on down the line.

Jiang Chen, having successfully reached the twenty-seventh floor of the Earth Martial Hall, was to be awarded the Identity Token of a Nine-star Core Disciple, drawing a wave of envy from the crowd.

Lin Feifei handed the Token to Jiang Chen and smiled. "Junior Brother Jiang, well done. You’ve just entered the Sect and have already become a Nine-star Core Disciple. You know, when I first joined, I was only a Five-star Core Disciple. Junior Brother, perhaps you’ll ascend to the rank of True Disciple even sooner than I did. You’ll have to look after your Senior Sister then!"

"Senior Sister Lin is joking. If that day truly comes, I would go through fire and water for you at your command!" Jiang Chen laughed.

Lin Feifei nodded. Just as she was about to speak, her elegant brows furrowed slightly, and a respectful look appeared on her face.

She nodded from time to time.

A glint flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes. Watching Lin Feifei, he thought to himself, ’It seems an expert is secretly communicating with Senior Sister Lin via voice transmission!’

A moment later, Lin Feifei let out a long breath. Her gaze toward Jiang Chen was incredibly complex. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke. "Junior Brother Jiang, Elder Qii requests your presence!"